Software License Agreement Amongst Workgroups Using Software Usage Data

ABSTRACT

A license handling information handling system receives an electronic message from a first computer system utilized by a first user. The first user&#39;s message requests a license to a licensed product that has previously been purchased by the organization. The license handling information handling system identifies a second user in the organization that currently has a license to the licensed product, and requests that the second user relinquish the license to the licensed product. The second user indicates that the second user&#39;s license will be relinquished for a temporary time period. The licensing handling information handling system sends an electronic message, including the temporary time period, to the first user. In response to the first user accepting the temporary time period, the second user&#39;s license to the licensed product is revoked, and the first user is granted a license to the licensed product.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/501,547, filed Jul. 13, 2009, titled “Software License Usage AmongstWorkgroups Using Software Usage Data,” and having the same inventors asthe above-referenced application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to managing licensed products amongst agroup of users. More particularly, the present invention relates tolicense handling information handling system that revokes and grantslicenses to users based on need calculations.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is often the case that a company can only afford to purchase a finitenumber of software licenses for software applications. This results in anumber of software CDs sitting around not being used or applicationsbeing installed but not used while a number of employees are left outfrom using this software because there are no available licenses. Thisin turn leads to enterprises over spending when they could benefit fromusing existing software licenses that are not used.

SUMMARY

An approach is provided using a license handling information handlingsystem that receives, over a computer network, an electronic message atthe license handling information handling system from a first computersystem utilized by a first user. The first user's message requests alicense to a licensed product that has previously been purchased by theorganization. The license handling information handling systemidentifies a second user in the organization that currently has alicense to the licensed product, and requests that the second userrelinquish the license to the licensed product. The second userindicates that the second user's license will be relinquished for atemporary time period. The licensing handling information handlingsystem sends an electronic message, including the temporary time period,to the first user. The first user may accept the temporary time period.In response to the first user accepting the temporary time period, thesecond user's license to the licensed product is revoked by the licensehandling information handling system and the first user is granted alicense to the licensed product.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Otheraspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, asdefined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limitingdetailed description set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing system in which themethods described herein can be implemented;

FIG. 2 provides an extension of the information handling systemenvironment shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate that the methods describedherein can be performed on a wide variety of information handlingsystems which operate in a networked environment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing license management in an organization;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing steps involved in a user making a requestfor a license to a licensed product;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing steps involved in updating a licensetracking database maintained by the license handling informationhandling system;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing steps taken by the license handlinginformation handling system to monitor software usage;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing steps taken to process a queue of useswaiting for licenses to a licensed product; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing steps taken to execute an optionalexchange of a license between a licensed user and an unlicensed user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain specific details are set forth in the following description andfigures to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments ofthe invention. Certain well-known details often associated withcomputing and software technology are not set forth in the followingdisclosure, however, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the variousembodiments of the invention. Further, those of ordinary skill in therelevant art will understand that they can practice other embodiments ofthe invention without one or more of the details described below.Finally, while various methods are described with reference to steps andsequences in the following disclosure, the description as such is forproviding a clear implementation of embodiments of the invention, andthe steps and sequences of steps should not be taken as required topractice this invention. Instead, the following is intended to provide adetailed description of an example of the invention and should not betaken to be limiting of the invention itself. Rather, any number ofvariations may fall within the scope of the invention, which is definedby the claims that follow the description.

The following detailed description will generally follow the summary ofthe invention, as set forth above, further explaining and expanding thedefinitions of the various aspects and embodiments of the invention asnecessary. To this end, this detailed description first sets forth acomputing environment in FIG. 1 that is suitable to implement thesoftware and/or hardware techniques associated with the invention. Anetworked environment is illustrated in FIG. 2 as an extension of thebasic computing environment, to emphasize that modern computingtechniques can be performed across multiple discrete devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates information handling system 100, which is asimplified example of a computer system capable of performing thecomputing operations described herein. Information handling system 100includes one or more processors 110 coupled to processor interface bus112. Processor interface bus 112 connects processors 110 to Northbridge115, which is also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH). Northbridge115 connects to system memory 120 and provides a means for processor(s)110 to access the system memory. Graphics controller 125 also connectsto Northbridge 115. In one embodiment, PCI Express bus 118 connectsNorthbridge 115 to graphics controller 125. Graphics controller 125connects to display device 130, such as a computer monitor.

Northbridge 115 and Southbridge 135 connect to each other using bus 119.In one embodiment, the bus is a Direct Media Interface (DMI) bus thattransfers data at high speeds in each direction between Northbridge 115and Southbridge 135. In another embodiment, a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus connects the Northbridge and the Southbridge.Southbridge 135, also known as the I/O Controller Hub (ICH) is a chipthat generally implements capabilities that operate at slower speedsthan the capabilities provided by the Northbridge. Southbridge 135typically provides various busses used to connect various components.These busses include, for example, PCI and PCI Express busses, an ISAbus, a System Management Bus (SMBus or SMB), and/or a Low Pin Count(LPC) bus. The LPC bus often connects low-bandwidth devices, such asboot ROM 196 and “legacy” I/O devices (using a “super I/O” chip). The“legacy” I/O devices (198) can include, for example, serial and parallelports, keyboard, mouse, and/or a floppy disk controller. The LPC busalso connects Southbridge 135 to Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 195.Other components often included in Southbridge 135 include a DirectMemory Access (DMA) controller, a Programmable Interrupt Controller(PIC), and a storage device controller, which connects Southbridge 135to nonvolatile storage device 185, such as a hard disk drive, using bus184.

ExpressCard 155 is a slot that connects hot-pluggable devices to theinformation handling system. ExpressCard 155 supports both PCI Expressand USB connectivity as it connects to Southbridge 135 using both theUniversal Serial Bus (USB) the PCI Express bus. Southbridge 135 includesUSB Controller 140 that provides USB connectivity to devices thatconnect to the USB. These devices include webcam (camera) 150, infrared(IR) receiver 148, keyboard and trackpad 144, and Bluetooth device 146,which provides for wireless personal area networks (PANs). USBController 140 also provides USB connectivity to other miscellaneous USBconnected devices 142, such as a mouse, removable nonvolatile storagedevice 145, modems, network cards, ISDN connectors, fax, printers, USBhubs, and many other types of USB connected devices. While removablenonvolatile storage device 145 is shown as a USB-connected device,removable nonvolatile storage device 145 could be connected using adifferent interface, such as a Firewire interface, etcetera.

Wireless Local Area Network (LAN) device 175 connects to Southbridge 135via the PCI or PCI Express bus 172. LAN device 175 typically implementsone of the IEEE 802.11 standards of over-the-air modulation techniquesthat all use the same protocol to wireless communicate betweeninformation handling system 100 and another computer system or device.Optical storage device 190 connects to Southbridge 135 using Serial ATA(SATA) bus 188. Serial ATA adapters and devices communicate over ahigh-speed serial link. The Serial ATA bus also connects Southbridge 135to other forms of storage devices, such as hard disk drives. Audiocircuitry 160, such as a sound card, connects to Southbridge 135 via bus158. Audio circuitry 160 also provides functionality such as audioline-in and optical digital audio in port 162, optical digital outputand headphone jack 164, internal speakers 166, and internal microphone168. Ethernet controller 170 connects to Southbridge 135 using a bus,such as the PCI or PCI Express bus. Ethernet controller 170 connectsinformation handling system 100 to a computer network, such as a LocalArea Network (LAN), the Internet, and other public and private computernetworks.

While FIG. 1 shows one information handling system, an informationhandling system may take many forms. For example, an informationhandling system may take the form of a desktop, server, portable,laptop, notebook, or other form factor computer or data processingsystem. In addition, an information handling system may take other formfactors such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming device, ATMmachine, a portable telephone device, a communication device or otherdevices that include a processor and memory.

The Trusted Platform Module (TPM 195) shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein to provide security functions is but one example of a hardwaresecurity module (HSM). Therefore, the TPM described and claimed hereinincludes any type of HSM including, but not limited to, hardwaresecurity devices that conform to the Trusted Computing Groups (TCG)standard, and entitled “Trusted Platform Module (TPM) SpecificationVersion 1.2.” The TPM is a hardware security subsystem that may beincorporated into any number of information handling systems, such asthose outlined in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 provides an extension of the information handling systemenvironment shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate that the methods describedherein can be performed on a wide variety of information handlingsystems that operate in a networked environment. Types of informationhandling systems range from small handheld devices, such as handheldcomputer/mobile telephone 210 to large mainframe systems, such asmainframe computer 270. Examples of handheld computer 210 includepersonal digital assistants (PDAs), personal entertainment devices, suchas MP3 players, portable televisions, and compact disc players. Otherexamples of information handling systems include pen, or tablet,computer 220, laptop, or notebook, computer 230, workstation 240,personal computer system 250, and server 260. Other types of informationhandling systems that are not individually shown in FIG. 2 arerepresented by information handling system 280. As shown, the variousinformation handling systems can be networked together using computernetwork 200. Types of computer network that can be used to interconnectthe various information handling systems include Local Area Networks(LANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), the Internet, the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), other wireless networks, and anyother network topology that can be used to interconnect the informationhandling systems. Many of the information handling systems includenonvolatile data stores, such as hard drives and/or nonvolatile memory.Some of the information handling systems shown in FIG. 2 depictsseparate nonvolatile data stores (server 260 utilizes nonvolatile datastore 265, mainframe computer 270 utilizes nonvolatile data store 275,and information handling system 280 utilizes nonvolatile data store285). The nonvolatile data store can be a component that is external tothe various information handling systems or can be internal to one ofthe information handling systems. In addition, removable nonvolatilestorage device 145 can be shared among two or more information handlingsystems using various techniques, such as connecting the removablenonvolatile storage device 145 to a USB port or other connector of theinformation handling systems.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing license management in an organization.Organization managed information handling systems 300 include devicessuch as desktop computer systems, laptop computer systems, and handheldcomputer systems (e.g., Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), mobiletelephones, etc.). The organization purchases a number of licenses to anumber of licensed products, such as licensed software, that isinstalled on the various organization managed information handlingsystems 300. Because of license terms and cost, sometimes licensedproducts can only be installed on a limited number of informationhandling systems 300. The inventions described herein, as defined by theclaims, provide an approach to manage these licensed products.

Organization managed information handling systems 300 are linked to oneanother, and to license handling information handling system 301, viacomputer network 200. The managed systems each have unique identifiersand provide the license handling information handling system with usagedata pertaining to the users' usage of licensed products. In addition,users that require a particular licensed product send an electronicmessage to license handling information handling system 301 via computernetwork 200, where the electronic message includes a request for alicense to a licensed product, such as a licensed software product.

License handling information handling system 301 uses software usagemonitor component 320 which maintains licensed software usage data store310 to identify current users of the licensed product. License data isreceived by the license handling information handling system's licensetracking component which maintains organizational license data store 330and also interacts with the license handling information handlingsystem's software usage monitor component 320 as well as licensesoftware acquisition component 350 to acquire new licenses to softwareproducts.

License handling information handling system 301 uses software usagemonitor component 320 to monitor users' usage of licensed products thathave been installed on the users computer systems 300. Component 320performs license terminations when a user is no longer using a licensedproduct and this data is reported to component 340 to updateorganizational license data 330 (e.g., reflecting that an additionallicense is now available and recording the individual users that arecurrently licensed to use the licensed product, etc.).

License acquisition component 350 of license handling informationhandling system 301 receives electronic messages from users that requireuse of a licensed product. Component 350 interacts with license trackingcomponent 340 to ascertain whether a license to the requested licensedproduct is available. If a license is available (e.g., the organizationhas paid for ten licenses, but only five are currently being used), thenthe requesting user is granted a license to the licensed product and thelicense details are stored in organization license data store 330. Onthe other hand, if a license is not available, then license trackingcomponent 340 interfaces with usage monitor component 320 to identify auser that has a license but is not fully using the licensed product. Ifsuch a user is identified, then component 320 frees up the license byrevoking the license from the user that under-utilized the licensedproduct and provides this license data back to license trackingcomponent 340 which reflects the license termination (revocation) andthe granting of the license to the requesting user in organizationallicense data store 330 and provides the license data to licenseacquisition component 350 which provides the license grant data back tothe requesting user so that the requesting user can legally install anduse the licensed product on the user's information handling system.Additionally, if the current users are adequately utilizing the licensedproduct, then licensed acquisition component 350 may operate to purchaseanother license to the licensed product. Furthermore, if funds are notavailable to purchase an additional license, then the requesting user isplaced in a queue with other users that are requesting the licensedproduct. As the licensed product becomes available, licenses are grantedto the users in the queue based on a needs calculation (e.g., those witha greater need for the licensed product are given preferentialtreatment, etc.).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing steps involved in a user making a requestfor a license to a licensed product. License handling informationhandling system processing is shown commencing at 400 whereupon, at step410, an electronic message is received over the computer network from afirst computer system used by a first user, the first user's messagerequesting a license to a licensed product. At step 415, a check is madeof the requesting user's authorization level using user authorizationssettings data store 420 that is accessible to the license handlinginformation handling system. Authorization settings can be managed in avariety of ways. For example, users can be provided a budget to licenseproducts or a user's ability to license products can be based on theuser's position in the organization so that, for example, higher levelemployees can license more products than lower level employees.

A determination is made as to whether the user is authorized to requestthis licensed product (decision 425). If the user is not authorized torequest this licensed product (e.g., user not a high enough levelemployee, does not have enough budgeted funds, etc.), then decision 425branches to “no” branch 430 whereupon, at step 435, an error message isreturned to the requesting user indicating that the user is notauthorized to request the licensed product. On the other hand, if theuser is authorized to request the licensed product, then decision 425branches to “yes” branch 440 whereupon, a determination is made as towhether a license is currently available for the licensed product(decision 445). If a license is currently available (e.g., theorganization paid for ten licenses but only five are currently beingused, etc.), then decision 445 branches to “yes” branch 448 whereuponthe license tracking database is updated at predefined process 450 (seeFIG. 5 and corresponding text for processing details) and at step 465the requesting user is granted a license to the licensed product.

Returning to decision 445, if a license is not currently available, thendecision 445 branches to “no” branch 452 whereupon a determination ismade (decision 455) as to whether the request is a high priority request(e.g., a very high level employee has an urgent need for the licensedproduct, etc.). If the request is a high priority request, then decision455 branches to “yes” branch 458 whereupon, at predefined process 460, alicense is obtained for a “high priority” request using the steps shownin FIGS. 6 and 7.

On the other hand, if the request is not a high priority request, thendecision 455 branches to “no” branch 468 whereupon, at step 470, therequest is placed in queue 475. At step 480, the license handlinginformation handling system sends an electronic message to requestinguser 405 informing the user that a license is not currently availableand that the user will be notified when a license becomes available. Thelicense handling information handling system manages the queue usingpredefined process 490 (see FIG. 6 and corresponding text for processingdetails).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing steps involved in updating a licensetracking database maintained by the license handling informationhandling system. Processing commences at 500 whereupon, at step 505 arequest is received. A determination is made as to whether the requestpertains to acquisition of a license to a licensed product (decision510). If the request pertains to acquisition of a license to a licensedproduct, then decision 510 branches to “yes” branch 515 whereupon adetermination is made as to whether the licensed product is new to theorganization or is already being licensed by the organization. If thelicensed product is already being licensed, then decision 520 branchesto “existing” branch 522 whereupon, at step 525, the number of licensesto the licensed product are increased or decreased according to thelicense acquisition request. The details of licensed products ismaintained in organizational licensed data store 330. As shown, for eachlicensed product, the system keeps track of the total number of licensesthat have been purchased, the licenses that are currently being used,metadata regarding the licenses (e.g., product version information,usage restriction data, the date the license was acquired, thetermination date of the license, etc.). Additionally, for each user inthe organization that has been granted a license to the licensedproduct, the system records the user's identifier, the computer systemidentifier where the licensed product is installed (if applicable), andmetadata regarding the user (e.g., need justification, date acquired,termination date, if any, priority, etc.). Returning to decision 520, ifthe license is a new acquisition by the organization, then decision 520branches to “new” branch 530 whereupon, at step 535, the details of thelicense are added to organizational license data store 330 including thetotal number of licenses that the organization has purchased. Becausethis is a new license to the organization, the current number oflicenses being used by users in the organization is set to zero. Asusers request licenses to the licensed product, this number of licensescurrently being used will be incremented.

Returning to decision 510, if the request is not for a licenseacquisition, then decision 510 branches to “no” branch 540 whereupon adetermination is made as to whether the request pertains to anindividual user's request or action (decision 550). If the user actionis to revoke a previously granted license to a licensed product, thendecision 550 branches to “revoke grant” branch 555 whereupon, at step560 the date that the user's license revocation to the licensed productis recorded and, at step 565, the total number of licenses currentlybeing used by users in the organization is decremented.

On the other hand, if the user action is for a new license grant to alicensed product, then decision 550 branches to “new grant” branch 570whereupon, at step 575, the user and system identifiers are added toorganization license data store 330 along with metadata pertaining tothe user. At step 580, the total number of licenses currently being usedby users in the organization is incremented.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing steps taken by the license handlinginformation handling system to monitor software usage. Processingcommences at 600 whereupon, at step 605, usage data is received fromorganization managed computer systems 300. At step 610, the users' usageof various licensed products is reflected in licensed product usage datastore 310. For example, the licensed product usage data can include theuser's identifier, the system identifier, the date the licensed productwas last used, the amount of time the user spends using the licensedproduct in the past day, week, month, etc.

At step 615, the first licensed product identifier is selected fromqueue 475 after sorting the queue by the various licensed products thathave been requested. At step 620, an algorithm (calculation) is appliedto each user requesting the selected licensed product. The calculationresults in a product need score that corresponds to the need of therequesting users for the licensed product. For example, the product needscore could be based on a combination of the priority level, the datethe request was added to the queue, and the reasons and justificationsthe requesting user has for the licensed product. At step 625, therequestors for the licensed product are sorted based on the calculatedproduct need scores corresponding to each of the users and the list isstored in sorted requested memory area 630.

At step 635, the users that are currently licensed for the selectedlicensed product are selected. At step 640, the system calculatescurrent user product need scores corresponding to needs analyses of thecurrent users pertaining to the licensed product. For example, thecurrent user product need scores can be calculated using the amount oftime the users spend using the licensed product, the date the productwas last used by the users, and other factors included in licensedsoftware usage data. At step 645 the current users of the licensedproduct are sorted based on the current user product need scorescorresponding to each of the current users. The sorted current users arestored in memory area 650. The queue of users waiting for licenses tothe selected licensed product is processed at predefined process 660(see FIG. 7 and corresponding text for processing details).

A determination is made as to whether there are more licensed productsin queue 475 to process (decision 670). If there are more licensedproducts to process, decision 670 branches to “yes” branch 675 whichloops back to step 615 in order to select the next licensed product andprocess it as described above. This looping continues until all of theproducts in queue 475 have been processed, at which point decision 670branches to “no” branch 685 and processing ends at 695.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing steps taken to process a queue of useswaiting for licenses to a licensed product. Processing commences at 700whereupon, at step 710, the first requestor (user) is selected fromsorted requestors memory area 630. Sorted requestors memory area 630 waspreviously sorted so that users with higher calculated needs analysisscores are at the top of the queue and are therefore the first usersselected from memory area 640. At step 720, the first current user isselected from sorted current users memory area 650. Sorted current usersmemory area 650 was previously sorted so that current users with lowercalculated needs analyses scores are at the top of the queue and aretherefore the first current users of the licensed product selected frommemory area 650.

A determination is made as to whether the request is a “high priority”request (decision 730). If the request is a high priority request, thendecision branches to “yes” branch 735 whereupon, at predefined process740, the selected current user's grant to the licensed product isrevoked (see FIG. 5 and corresponding text for processing details), andat predefined process 750, the selected requestor is granted a licenseto the licensed product (see FIG. 5 and corresponding text forprocessing details). On the other hand, if the request is not a highpriority request, then decision 730 branches to “no” branch 755whereupon, at step 760, the selected requester's user product need scoreis compared to the selected current user product need score. Adetermination is made as to whether, based on the comparison, whetherthe current user's license should be transferred to the requesting userautomatically (decision 765). For example, if the selected current userhas not used the licensed product in several months and the selectedrequesting user has a high product needs score, then an automaticexchange may be appropriate. If the transfer should be madeautomatically, then decision 765 branches to “yes” branch 762 whereuponpredefined processes 740 and 750 are performed in order to revoke thecurrent user's grant to the licensed product and grant the license tothe user requesting the licensed product.

Returning to decision 765, if the scores do not warrant an automaticexchange between the current user and the requesting user, then decision765 branches to “no” branch 768 whereupon, at predefined process 770, anoptional exchange process is performed (see FIG. 8 and correspondingtext for processing details). During the optional exchange, the currentuser is asked whether he/she will give up the license to the licensedproduct (either permanently or temporarily) so that the requesting usercan obtain the license. A determination is made as to whether theoptional exchange process resulted in an exchange between the currentuser and the requesting user (decision 775). If an exchange did not takeplace (e.g., the current user refused to give up his or her license tothe licensed product, etc.), then decision 775 branches to “no” branch776 which loops back to select the next current user from the list ofsorted users (memory area 650) and re-perform the exchange processingdescribed above for steps 730 through 775. This looping is performeduntil either there are no more current users of the licensed product toprocess or until the requesting user receives the license grant from oneof the current users. When this happens, decision 775 branches to “yes”branch 778, exiting the loop.

A determination is made as to whether there are more users requesting alicense to the licensed product (decision 780). If there are more usersrequesting a license, then decision 780 branches to “yes” branch 785which loops back to step 710 to select the next requestor from sortedrequestors memory area 630. This looping is performed until there are nomore requestors to process, at which point, decision 780 branches to“no” branch 790 and processing returns to the calling routine at 795.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing steps taken to execute an optionalexchange of a license between a licensed user and an unlicensed user.License handling information handling system processing commences at 800whereupon, at step 805, the license handling information handling systemsends an electronic message to the selected current user asking thecurrent user if they would relinquish their license to the licensedproduct to another user. Selected current user processing commences at801 whereupon, at step 810, the selected current user receives theelectronic message from the license handling information handlingsystem. The selected current user makes a decision as to whether toaccept the request (decision 815). If the selected current user choosesto accept the request and relinquish his or her license to the licensedproduct, then decision 815 branches to “yes” branch 818 whereupon adetermination is made as to whether the current user only wishes torelinquish the license for a temporarily or permanently (decision 820).If the current user agrees to permanently relinquish the license, thendecision 820 branches to “yes” branch 822 whereupon, at step 825, theselected current user sends an acceptance message back to the licensehandling information handling system. On the other hand, if the selectedcurrent user only agrees to relinquish the license temporarily, thendecision 820 branches to “no” branch 828 whereupon, at step 830, aconditional response is returned to the license handling informationhandling system indicating the time period (e.g., number of days, etc.)that the selected current user is willing to relinquish his or herlicense to the licensed product. Returning to decision 815, if theselected current user does not wish to relinquish his or her license tothe licensed product, then decision 815 branches to “no” branch 832whereupon, at step 835, a denial response is returned to licensehandling information handling system.

License handling information handling system processing resumes at step840 when the response is received from the selected current user. Adetermination is made as to whether the selected current user has agreed(accepted) to relinquish the license either permanently or temporarily(decision 845). If the selected current user did not agree to relinquishthe license, either permanently or temporarily, then decision 845branches to “no” branch 848 whereupon processing returns to the callingroutine at 850. On the other hand, if the selected current user didagree to relinquish the license, either permanently or temporarily, thendecision 845 branches to “yes” branch 852 whereupon a determination ismade as to whether the selected current user only agreed to temporarilyrelinquish the license (decision 855). If the selected current user onlyagreed to relinquish the license temporarily, then decision 855 branchesto “yes” branch 858 whereupon, at step 860, the license handlinginformation handling system sends an electronic message to the selectedrequesting user with the proposed temporary license grant (e.g., licensegranted for a number of days, etc.).

Processing performed by the selected requesting user is shown commencingat 861 whereupon, at step 863, the electronic message is received fromthe license handling information handling system. The selectedrequesting user decides whether to accept the temporary terms (decision865). If the temporary terms are acceptable, then decision 865 branchesto “yes” branch 868 whereupon, at step 870, an acceptance response isreturned to the license handling information handling system. On theother hand, if the temporary terms are not acceptable (e.g., therequesting user needs to use the licensed product for a long termassignment but the selected current user is only willing to relinquishthe license for a few days, etc.), then decision 865 branches to “no”branch 872 whereupon, at step 875, a denial response is returned to thelicense handling information handling system.

Returning to processing performed by the license handling informationhandling system, at step 876, the response is received from the selectedrequesting user. A determination is made as to whether the selectedrequesting user accepted the temporary terms for the license grant(decision 878). If the selected requesting user did not accept thetemporary terms, then decision 878 branches to “no” branch 879 whereuponprocessing returns to the calling routine at 880. On the other hand, ifthe selected current user accepted the temporary license grant terms,then decision 878 branches to “yes” branch 882 whereupon, at step 884,the terms of the temporary license grant are recorded in temporarylicense grant transfer data store 886 recording both the identifier ofthe selected current user and the identifier of the selected requestinguser along with the licensed product identifier and the time period(term) that the temporary license has been granted from the selectedcurrent user to the selected requesting user. At the end of the term,the license handling information handling system will swap the licenseback so that the selected current user will regain the license at theend of the term and the temporary license granted to the selectedrequesting user will be revoked at the end of the term. In order tofacilitate the temporary transfer from the selected current user to theselected requesting user, at predefined process 890, the selectedcurrent user's license to the licensed product is revoked (see FIG. 5and corresponding text for processing details) and, at predefinedprocess 892, the license handling information handling system grants theselected requesting user the license to the licensed product (again seeFIG. 5 and corresponding text for processing details). Processing thenreturns to the calling routine at 895.

Returning to decision 855, if the selected current user agreed topermanently relinquish his or her license grant to the licensed product,then decision 855 branches to “no” branch 888 whereupon predefinedprocesses 890 and 892 are performed in order to revoke the selectedcurrent user's license to the licensed product and to grant license tothe licensed product to the selected requesting user. Processing thenreturns at 895.

One of the preferred implementations of the invention is a combinationof client and server applications, namely, a set of instructions(program code) or other functional descriptive material in a code modulethat may, for example, be resident in the random access memory of thecomputer. Until required by the computer, the set of instructions may bestored in another computer memory, for example, in a hard disk drive, orin a removable memory such as an optical disk (for eventual use in a CDROM) or floppy disk (for eventual use in a floppy disk drive). Thus, thepresent invention may be implemented as a computer program product foruse in a computer. In addition, although the various methods describedare conveniently implemented in a general purpose computer selectivelyactivated or reconfigured by software, one of ordinary skill in the artwould also recognize that such methods may be carried out in hardware,in firmware, or in more specialized apparatus constructed to perform therequired method steps. Functional descriptive material is informationthat imparts functionality to a machine. Functional descriptive materialincludes, but is not limited to, computer programs, instructions, rules,facts, definitions of computable functions, objects, and datastructures.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, that changes and modifications may bemade without departing from this invention and its broader aspects.Therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scopeof this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that theinvention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will beunderstood by those with skill in the art that if a specific number ofan introduced claim element is intended, such intent will be explicitlyrecited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no suchlimitation is present. For non-limiting example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimelements. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim element by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element,even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more”or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”; the sameholds true for the use in the claims of definite articles.

1. A method comprising: receiving, over a computer network, a request ata license handling information handling system from a first computersystem utilized by a first user of an organization, wherein the firstuser requests a license to a licensed product; identifying a second userin the organization, wherein the second user currently has a license tothe licensed product; in response to the identifying, sending a firstelectronic message from the license handling information handling systemto the second user, wherein the first electronic message requests thatthe second user relinquish the second user's license; receiving, at thelicense handling information handling system, a second electronicmessage from the second user, wherein the second electronic messageindicates that the second user will relinquish the second user's licensefor a temporary time period; sending, from the license handlinginformation handling system, a third electronic message to the firstuser, wherein the third electronic message includes the temporary timeperiod; receiving, at the license handling information handling system,a response from the first user, the response indicating whether thefirst user accepts the temporary time period; in response to the firstuser accepting the temporary time period, revoking the license of thesecond user to the licensed product from the license handlinginformation handling system; and in response to the revoking, grantingthe first user the license to the licensed product from the licensehandling information handling system.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: automatically revoking, by the license handling informationhandling system, the first user's license to the licensed product uponan expiration of the time period; and automatically granting, by thelicense handling information handling system, the second user thelicense to the licensed product upon the expiration of the time period.3. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the second user furthercomprises: calculating a first user product need score corresponding toa needs analysis of the first user pertaining to the licensed product;calculating one or more current user product need scores correspondingto one or more needs analyses of one or more current users pertaining tothe licensed product; comparing the calculated first user product needscore to the one or more current user product need scores; and selectingthe second user based on the comparison, wherein the first user productneed score is better than the current user product need scorecorresponding to the second user.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein aplurality of requests for licenses to the licensed product, includingthe first user's request, are received at the license handlinginformation handling system, wherein the method further comprises:storing the plurality of requests in a queue managed by the licensehandling information handling system; sorting the plurality of storedrequests by a product need score corresponding to each of the requests;and selecting the license request of the first user based on the firstuser product need score being better than the other product need scorescorresponding to the plurality of stored requests.
 5. A computer programproduct stored in a computer readable medium, comprising functionaldescriptive material that, when executed by a license handlinginformation handling system, causes the license handling informationhandling system to perform actions comprising: receiving, over acomputer network, a request from a first computer system utilized by afirst user of an organization, wherein the first user requests a licenseto a licensed product; identifying a second user in the organization,wherein the second user currently has a license to the licensed product;in response to the identifying, sending a first electronic message tothe second user, wherein the first electronic message requests that thesecond user relinquish the second user's license; receiving a secondelectronic message from the second user, wherein the second electronicmessage indicates that the second user will relinquish the second user'slicense for a temporary time period; sending a third electronic messageto the first user, wherein the third electronic message includes thetemporary time period; receiving a response from the first user, theresponse indicating whether the first user accepts the temporary timeperiod; in response to the first user accepting the temporary timeperiod, revoking the license of the second user to the licensed product;and in response to the revoking, granting the first user the license tothe licensed product.
 6. The computer program product of claim 5 whereinthe actions further comprise: automatically revoking the first user'slicense to the licensed product upon an expiration of the time period;and automatically granting the second user the license to the licensedproduct upon the expiration of the time period.
 7. The computer programproduct of claim 5 wherein the actions further comprise identifying thesecond user by performing actions comprising: calculating a first userproduct need score corresponding to a needs analysis of the first userpertaining to the licensed product; calculating one or more current userproduct need scores corresponding to one or more needs analyses of oneor more current users pertaining to the licensed product; comparing thecalculated first user product need score to the one or more current userproduct need scores; and selecting the second user based on thecomparison, wherein the first user product need score is better than thecurrent user product need score corresponding to the second user.
 8. Thecomputer program product of claim 5 wherein a plurality of requests forlicenses to the licensed product, including the first user's request,are received at the license handling information handling system, andwherein the actions further comprise: storing the plurality of requestsin a queue managed by the license handling information handling system;sorting the plurality of stored requests by a product need scorecorresponding to each of the requests; and selecting the license requestof the first user based on the first user product need score beingbetter than the other product need scores corresponding to the pluralityof stored requests.
 9. A license handling information handling systemcomprising: one or more processors; a memory accessible by at least oneof the processors; a nonvolatile storage area accessible by at least oneof the processors; a network adapter that connects the license handlinginformation handling system to a computer network; and a set ofinstructions stored in the memory and executed by at least one of theprocessors in order to perform actions comprising: receiving, over acomputer network, a request from a first computer system utilized by afirst user of an organization, wherein the first user requests a licenseto a licensed product; identifying a second user in the organization,wherein the second user currently has a license to the licensed product;in response to the identifying, sending a first electronic message tothe second user, wherein the first electronic message requests that thesecond user relinquish the second user's license; receiving a secondelectronic message from the second user, wherein the second electronicmessage indicates that the second user will relinquish the second user'slicense for a temporary time period; sending a third electronic messageto the first user, wherein the third electronic message includes thetemporary time period; receiving a response from the first user, theresponse indicating whether the first user accepts the temporary timeperiod; in response to the first user accepting the temporary timeperiod, revoking the license of the second user to the licensed product;and in response to the revoking, granting the first user the license tothe licensed product.
 10. The license handling information handlingsystem of claim 9 wherein the actions further comprise: automaticallyrevoking the first user's license to the licensed product upon theexpiration of the time period; and automatically granting the seconduser the license to the licensed product upon the expiration of the timeperiod.
 11. The license handling information handling system of claim 9wherein identifying the second user further comprises actionscomprising: calculating a first user product need score corresponding toa needs analysis of the first user pertaining to the licensed product;calculating one or more current user product need scores correspondingto one or more needs analyses of one or more current users pertaining tothe licensed product; comparing the calculated first user product needscore to the one or more current user product need scores; and selectingthe second user based on the comparison, wherein the first user productneed score is better than the current user product need scorecorresponding to the second user.
 12. The license handling informationhandling system of claim 9 wherein a plurality of requests for licensesto the licensed product, including the first user's request, arereceived at the license handling information handling system and whereinthe instructions perform further actions comprising: storing theplurality of requests in a queue managed by the license handlinginformation handling system; sorting the plurality of stored requests bya product need score corresponding to each of the requests; andselecting the license request of the first user based on the first userproduct need score being better than the other product need scorescorresponding to the plurality of stored requests.